Blaming Israel for the breakdown of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority might be a convenient for John Kerry not to cause waves in the Arab world, but the American people aren’t buying it: More than two-thirds of Americans place the blame for the failed talks squarely on Palestinian shoulders.
According to a national poll commissioned by The Israel Project, 66 percent of American adults agreed with the argument that “Israel cannot be expected to negotiate with a government or party that does not recognize its right to exist and seeks to destroy it.” The poll, conducted the last week in May, surveyed 1595 likely voters.
The poll also found that 51 percent of Americans feel their government should support Israel over the Palestinians, while just 9 percent said the opposite. 68 percent of Republicans said the country should side with Israel, over just 39 percent of Democrats. In addition, just 20 percent said they buy Abu Mazen’s claim that the unity deal with Hamas “enforces peace” because a unified Palestinian entity will be better able to negotiate peace.
Morton A. Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, said, “A large majority of Americans show that they understand better than the Obama Administration that Palestinian extremism and non-acceptance of Israel, which finds clear expression in the PA’s unity deal with Hamas, is the principal reason peace is presently not possible. They understand better than our government, to judge by the statements of President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry, that non-acceptance of Israel, not the announcement of the building of Jewish homes in part of Jerusalem, is the obstacle that prevents peace and impedes talks.”